Heart and Feather
by IanPhilippe
Summary: AtemxYugi,JouxSeth When the young Pharaoh is kidnapped by two rogues, how will his advisors deal with it? Will they find their ruler? Will the kidnappers be punished? And will love blossom where it wasn't seen before?


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**Heart and Feather**

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**Disclaimer:** I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh! characters. No profit made, written for the sole purpose of free fangirling.

**Warnings: OOCness **I'm afraid,** AU, yaoi**

**Pairings:** Atemu x Yugi, Seto x Joey

**A/N:** I got into some kind of writing frenzy and bothered my best friend to set some challenge for me… and being the biggest YGO fan, she chose this: pharaoh!Atemu x arrogant!Yugi, Seto x Joey, ancient Egypt, two kidnaps, oasis, beautiful gardens, slave market, prison and loads of caramel… and also Yugi and Bakura as bandits. And… lots of Tea-bashing and eventually her death, which I didn't manage to squeeze into this story without it sounding VERY awkward, so… sorry, darling ^^;

I am not sure if I pulled it off as you wanted, Mi-chan, and SetoxJoey bit grew longer than I expected, but I hope you like it at least a tiny bit ^^;

**Note:** The title refers to the belief of last trial in ancient Egypt, when after your death, your heart was to be weighed against Thowt's feather (Thowt was the god of scribes, a man with the head of an ibis). If your bad deeds outweighed the feather, your soul was 'damned' (and, I believe, torn in the jaws of giant crocodiles of another god).

When the name Seth is mentioned in connections like Seth's demons, Seth's fire, Seth's altar and so on, Seth the God of the Underworld is meant by that.

***

The Pharaoh of Upper and Lower Egypt woke up with a smile playing on his lips. He somehow couldn't stop looking pleased these days, and he suspected it had something to do with that lovely presence in his bed, presence with skin so pale it was almost unnatural for an Egyptian, so soft it felt like he was being caressed by the warm waters of Nile and with the most beautiful, most sincere eyes ever, as they looked up to him sparkling when Yugi was under him, writhing and moaning…

Just the thought was enough to make Atemu squirm and want to kiss those perfect, slightly pouted lips, waking Yugi in a more than pleasant way. But the boy seemed tired – after last night, he definitely deserved a sleep-in.

Atemu's bare feet touched the cold stone floor as he slipped out of the bed quietly, deciding to take a morning walk in his gardens. They were most beautiful in the early morning, when all the plants were just waking up and glittering in the low, warm light of the dawn, and Atemu loved those moments he could be alone with his thoughts.

Especially as those thoughts were of much nicer kind than they had been several weeks ago.

Atemu wandered down the corridor, hugging himself loosely, enjoying the touch of his own warm fingers and the still cool air of the fading night on his body. As he turned around the corner on the way to the gardens, a creak of the door almost scared him to death, and he mentally prepared himself for questioning looks of the servants… but instead, his magician slipped out of the doorway, slightly hunched, with a look as guilty as if he was trying to conceal a murder – in fact even more, considering that in this palace, murder wasn't altogether as rare as it should have been.

Atemu chuckled lowly, knowing that Seth would hear. Seth always heard anything he wasn't actually supposed to know, and embarassing the most conservative, prudish man in the whole palace seemed like… a good way to make this morning even better.

Seth glared at the pharaoh, not even trying for a formal greeting as he looked anything but formal with a bed linen tucked loosely around his body, his hair messy and someone's teeth imprinted into the skin of his shoulder.

Atemu realized where they stood, and whose room it was that Seth was in such a hurry to leave in this hour when usually no one was around to see… and chuckled once more. He would swear Seth was blushing as he stomped down the corridor, trying to look intimidating and decent and managing to look just very distressed, satisfied and embarrassed.

The pharaoh's face was still graced with a soft smile as he stepped out to the gardens, closing his eyes and just feeling the touch of leaves under his feet. He knew it cost a terrible lot to keep the garden as it was, beautiful and sparkling and green… but it was one thing he could never live without. Especially after it started reminding him of one particular oasis… and one particular day, when his life had started changing completely - for the better, for what it was now…

***FLASHBACK***

The pharaoh stood on the balcony and stared into the distance, as if his gaze could travel over the sea and bring news he desired. News of change, news of victory… anything that would get him rid of the annoying court that surrounded him. Most of them were incompetent imbeciles that got to their places just because their fathers were doing their job before them, and Atemu knew that at least half of the court thought the same about him. And still, every day, they practically kissed his butt in order to get in his favour, to have something done for them or their families… Atemu was tired of that. Of constant arguments he had to hear, of the fact that his advisors were mostly talking in front of him as if he wasn't even there, as if he really was just this ridiculous figure of a god's son who was to be worshipped, respected and loved, but never allowed to actually make a decision that would make the peasants live better lives.

It was driving Atemu crazy – as a young boy, he always saw how people loved his father, how they prayed to his figure, how he was the embodiment of all things good on this world for them. He saw people kissing his feet and being out of their mind with happiness for being allowed to do so, he saw people worshipping the ground his father was walking on, he heard all those hails to his name that always echoed through any crowd he had ever seen.

Not that he didn't live the same way now. No… it was all pretty much the same. But now, Atemu was old enough – and cynical enough – to see the reality. That people were just blinded by mere children's tales about gods and their sons, the pharaohs. That no one really cared about HIM, that no one in this country actually gave a damn about WHO was the pharaoh. As long as they had one, a demi-god on this earth to worship, trust and love, at least in public… all was well.

Atemu slammed his fist down on the balcony railing. He hated this position, this… numbness that was slowly taking over his mind. Atemu felt as if he had already departed to his pyramid, and was just waiting for Thowt to show up with his scales and weigh Atemu's heart, which right now felt heavy with regret, boredom and helplessness.

"I am going to take a walk," he announced when he felt presence behind his back. He didn't need to turn, he was sure it was just one of his hated advisors, trying to convince him to rule a decision that was in favor of said advisor's family or friends.

"Where, may I ask?" said the voice of the advisor, but to Atemu's relief, it wasn't one of the really annoying ones. His name was Seth, and despite that underworldly and, according to some, cursed name, the man himself was rather reasonable, quick-witted and an accomplished magician, if a bit cold at times.

"The docks," Atemu said on the spur of a moment. That wasn't such a bad idea… he hadn't been to the docks since… well, never, in fact, but he longed to go there suddenly. The mixture of foul smells and foul minds he had heard about somehow excited him, as he desired anything but golden order of the palace at that moment.

The silence behind his back spoke volumes, and Atemu turned, frown settled in his features.

"As the pharaoh of this land, I am allowed to go wherever I want," he started, and at Seth's small smile, he knew he was acting like a spoiled child wanting a new toy. He hated Seth when he was making him feel this small, stupid and incapable of taking care of himself. No one should be allowed to make the pharaoh feel like that. No one should be ABLE to make him feel like that, for Horus' sake.

"I would advise against, Pharaoh," Seth bowed lightly, and somehow managed to make even the bow seem condescending.

"It tears my heart apart, but I agree with the sourpuss here," a voice chirped from the columns and Atemu turned to see another man there. Jou was probably his favourite advisor, and it wasn't just the fact that he was a great judge of character – the blonde man was always smiling, had a laid-back personality and if someone could make Seth react with more than just a sneer, it was definitely this former slave. Sometimes it was fun just to call them both into the same room, say one word and then watch them go on bickering for hours.

But this day was not one of those when Atemu appreciated these two near each other, and so he just rolled his eyes. Not to mention the fact that Jou was actually AGREEING with Seth – which meant either that he wanted to piss the magician off, or that it was such an important issue that arguing with Seth came second. Atemu frowned:

"I want to go there."

"I warn you, Pharaoh, Thebes are not a very friendly city itself, and the docks are the worst by far," Seth said, and Jou's eyes suddenly caught that sparkle they usually had before…

"And you know that so well because you've been there _how many times_?!" the blonde raised an eyebrow and Atemu rolled his eyes. Here was his hope that he wouldn't need to listen to them arguing just today… no, just for a few minutes…

"Considering that the slave market is close to the docks, I think you are better entitled to speak to the Pharaoh about the dangers of those parts," Seth growled, Jou went purple, spat back something about someone being so high that he couldn't see reality if it bit him in his ass… and when the court skull-opener's annoying daughter entered the scene, all hell broke loose, taking the poor pharaoh to watch the whirlwind of accusations, growling and snorting at each other.

When the girl, Tea, started another of her usual rants about friendship and how it was important to be civil to each other… well, that wasn't the worst yet. The WORST came when both Seth and Jou snarled at her to shut her trap (Jou directly, Seth diplomatically, but the tone and meaning was obviously the same). Then, the rant broke out fully and Atemu decided that it was a good opportunity to leave the battlefield and slip out unnoticed.

Yells similar to "I WOULD RATHER LICK THE WHOLE UNDERWORLD CLEAN THAN BE _FRIENDS_ WITH YOU" saw Atemu out of the door. He didn't care if his head was to be ripped off at the docks. Anything was better than listening to those two – or three – annoying idiots.

***

The triple-colored head shook in silent astonishment.

"...so... THAT's your plan? Visit the pharaoh's palace, kidnap the most guarded man in this whole damn dustbowl of a country and just walk away with him?!"

His white haired companion thought for a while, then shrugged:

"It sounds pretty bad when you put it like that."

"No," Yugi shook his head again, this time in disbelief. He had had his share of crazy ideas with Bakura over the years, but this one exceeded all expectations. "It sounds pretty bad no matter how you put it. Of all the idiotic things you've come up with, this one is by far the most--"

"Brilliant," Bakura whispered, that slightly maniac grin plastered on his face again. His gaze followed something in the crowd of the market that Yugi didn't seem to catch, but that didn't matter right now, as he was busy yelling at his 'business-partner':

"WHAT?!"

"Look there. What do you see?" Bakura pointed to nowhere, or more precisely somewhere to the middle of the crowd looking like any crowd, any day… then, a glitter caught Yugi's trained pickpocket eyes.

"That dude trying to hide an enormous golden necklace under that shabby cloak? I'd say I see payment for our dinner."

Bakura's grin widened. That didn't foretell anything nice, as far as Yugi's experience went.

"Then look again. Isn't he familiar?"

Yugi frowned. He did believe he'd seen the man before, but that might just- wait…

"No. That can't be," Yugi muttered, more for himself than for that white-haired nutcracker next to him. Well, he was sure it was just some kind of a market fata morgana, because it wasn't quite… usual for Pharaohs to stroll the streets of Thebes freely, near the docks nonetheless, not without his escort, guards, advisors and all that celebratory stuff.

Not on the day his apparently suicidal friend came up with the brilliant idea to kidnap this very Pharaoh.

"I'd say that gods are in favour of our little plan," Bakura stood up, grin still in place, and his steps followed the "masked" Pharaoh to the secluded back alley which the ruler of the country apparently took for a shortcut.

_Our shortcut to wealth,_ Yugi grinned for himself and with a resigned sigh, followed Bakura.

***

Seth paced the halls of pharaoh's palace, accompanied by his own occasional distressed grunts and nervous sighs. When 'that blonde imbecile' finally agreed to acknowledge the fact that Seth actually knew the docks better than some of their inhabitants despite being an educated, wealthy man, and when they both joined their forces to make that silly girl shut up and go do whatever it was she usually wasted her time with… the Pharaoh was gone.

And that wasn't a good sign. This Pharaoh was by far the worst one in the last few centuries, at least when it came to being careful with his own life, and it was slowly driving Seth crazy. He had lived long enough to remember the reign of Atemu's father, he had even performed some minor magic for the old Pharaoh and he definitely didn't want to see Atemu dead. The young Pharaoh was annoying, reckless and a little spoiled, but on the other hand also a righteous ruler and one of the few who actually gave a damn about the poor, even if Atemu's ideas of helping people were terribly idealistic and naïve at times.

Seth growled quietly under his breath and looked in the distance. He couldn't see much, except the sun high in the sky and the endless rows of houses forming this labyrinth of paradoxes called Thebes. He had tried to convince himself that the Pharaoh was just hiding somewhere with a scroll and a straw pen, trying to make sense of something useless again. But after several guards searched the palace on his orders and brought no results, he was quickly becoming more and more worried.

If there was one person who'd know where the Pharaoh was… it was that very someone Seth didn't particularly want to see, but if it was necessary for the sake of their ruler, he'd do it.

Heck, he'd called out Seth's underworld demons on more than one occasion when the previous Pharaoh needed them in war, he could handle one blond jerk. At least that was what Seth kept telling himself as he quickly passed several corridors and with a soft knock, entered the rooms of his ex-protégé.

Humidity hung in the air, heavy and sweet and warm, and Seth rolled his eyes at this annoying habit of Jou's. They all cared about personal hygiene in the palace a lot, that much was true, but Jou developed a kink for bathing anytime, anywhere, and in anything.

Especially that last one was characteristic as even now, Seth raised an eyebrow at the strange, dark-brown water in which Jou was sprawled, head thrown back, sighing blisfully.

"Is that a mud bath?" he inquired, making his presence known to the other man and smugly expecting to startle Jou out of his mind with appearing soundlessly behind him.

But the blonde must have developed better instincts during his stay in the palace, because he didn't look surprised at all. Instead, he opened his eyes and grinned up at the magician with mischief glittering in his eyes.

"No. It's a caramel bath."

That left Seth speechless for a moment, as he had a hard time grasping the idea of someone bathing in melted sugar. Not only would it be terribly counterproductive in terms of hygiene, but the idea of smelling, tasting and _feeling_ like a candy was well beyond Seth's comprehension.

None of that seemed to bother Jou much, as he grinned even wider and splashed in Seth's direction. The magician's gaze could make Sahara turn into an icicle at that moment, and Jou gave up with a sigh, standing up in his bath and getting out of the water. For a second, he thought about actually wrapping a linen around himself, but seeing Seth's slight discomfort – as always when the older man was forced to stay within twenty-meter radius of naked people – he decided against it, and placed his hands on his hips provocatively.

"Could you please dress so I can talk to you?" Seth practically hissed at him and Jou just smirked. He loved making the man angry, nervous or just annoyed.

"You're such a prude. Whatever you want to tell me, I doubt I need to be in full formal attire for that."

"The pharaoh disappeared," Seth turned to Jou, and the blonde derived an unhealthy amount of pleasure from the way the magician tried his best to look Jou straight in the eyes, not even an inch lower.

He waved a tanned hand at the news, sending a wave of caramel scent through the air.

"If he can take care of the whole country, he can take care of himself well enough."

At Seth's hard stare, Jou just stuck out his tongue:

"Maybe he just needed to get rid of your charming presence, Court Magician."

Seth growled in annoyance, which made his gaze stray from Jou's face. As he – purely accidentally, or course – glanced over Jou's well-formed, tanned body, he scowled, felt his face heat up and stormed out of the advisor's rooms as if the army of demons was behind his back.

He had always been uncomfortable around naked people, and especially naked Jou was making him feel nervous. It wasn't the man's nice body as much as the way Jou flaunted his nakedness without any sense of shame. Seth knew he was probably the weird one in this teasing-annoying settlement as most of the Egyptians didn't have any problem with nudity, but he couldn't help himself. He had tried to overcome his irrational discomfort on many occasions, but as that didn't bring any results, he decided to settle for trying to avoid naked people as much as possible. And Jou, with his impossible ability to sense anything that annoyed Seth, managed to use this to his full advantage.

Seth sighed, resting against a column in the corridor. Where was the cute blonde kid he had bought nine years ago? Lately he was beginning to feel that Jou was quickly getting far out of his reach, and that annoyed him ever more as seeing the guy's dick on more occasions than possible. He himself had been barely old enough to serve the Pharaoh when he met Jou for the first time, and even though Seth was still the older one in age, he sometimes felt that Jou was becoming too mature lately, even with all that jesting and teasing.

And Seth felt lost when near Jou, completely at a loss as to what he was supposed to say or do. Jou wasn't just a talented kid who stepped up from a scribe to a Pharaoh's advisor in just a few years' time anymore. He wasn't a freed slave anymore, he wasn't Seth's slave anymore, and the difference in the general feeling about Jou was quickly driving Seth crazy, what with his natural talent for being careless and crazy.

Seth sighed, shook off his thougts of Jou which just stressed him out further, and strode to his own rooms, to start searching for the Pharaoh the best he could.

***

"Now what do you want to do with him?!"

"This was YOUR idea, YOU do something about him!"

"We're so dead..."

Voices swam in Atemu's head, trying to bring him to consciousness, but he decided to ignore them and continue sleeping, just for a little while longer, until that ache at the back of his head subsided.

However, what he wasn't able to ignore was a light kick to his side, and he blinked, opening his eyes to see if he had died and had been reborn into some peasant's body. There couldn't possibly be someone who'd treat a Pharaoh, the Son of Horus, with this much disrespect.

Apparently, there was. Atemu coughed when he felt sand in his nose and tried to get up, but that wasn't as easy, seeing that his wrists were bound with a thick rope and tied to a tree.

"Who are you?" he asked, trying to focus and actually see the two persons towering over him as more than silhouettes blurred by the heat and the headache.

"Horus and Isis. Who do you think we are?! What do we look like?" the white-haired silhouette of a rogue mocked with a sneer, and Atemu's eyes went wide as his mind started working finally and he realized that he'd been kidnapped.

He. The Pharaoh, the mightiest man of the great Egypt, if not of the world, the Son of Horus. He. Had been kidnapped.

"Release me and nothing will happen to you, scum," he tried to sound high and mighty, but with being tied to a palm and with his voice so rough and dry, it didn't come out well.

"I have a better idea," the white-haired man grinned at him, and Atemu felt a chill run down his spine at that. The man seemed dangerous, strong and, most of all, out of his mind. "We keep you as you are and nothing will happen to us."

He retreated to a small tent Atemu didn't notice before, and he finally looked at the other rogue. He was smaller than the first one and reminded Atemu of himself when he was younger – and paler. Then, Atemu took in his surroundings properly for the first time since he woke up.

They were in an oasis, surrounded by strong palm trees, thick bushes and occasional scraggles of long, thin grass near the small aquamarine lake. Atemu cursed mentally – oasis meant they were far from Thebes and being in the middle of the desert meant that even if he managed to escape, he'd most probably set off in the wrong direction and die from starvation and dehydration. What a nice idea.

"Free me," he commanded, hoping for success with this rogue. Maybe he was more god-fearing and perceptive than the white-haired madman, who seemed like a leader of their group.

"I think not," the boy sneered too, and Atemu's hopes dispersed in the heat of the day. So much for finding a respectful rogue.

"Why did you kidnap me?" he asked at last, in a matter-of-fact tone. No need to try being impressive when there was noone here to be impressed.

The boy just shrugged, apparently not one for lengthy conversations.

"Because you're incompetent and we're hungry."

That managed to piss Atemu off quite spectacularly. He wanted to remind the boy of the times during his father's reign when the peasants starved due to the high military expenses, and were sent off to die on the battlefield regularly, but decided not to waste his breath. As he was looking at the boy, Atemu doubted he was old enough to remember that. He settled for being factual again:

"I am trying to do my best to provide enough food for the commoners..."

His short speech was interrupted by the boy's laughter, sounding far too cynical for Atemu's liking.

"Fuck the commoners, we don't give a damn about them," the boy grinned, "I just don't want to be a poor bandit forever, you know? We're going to exchange you for loads of money and then you can return to your little golden cage."

Atemu wanted to snarl at him and say something rude and brave, but was fascinated by the way this boy didn't give a fuck about him being the mightiest man on this end of the world.

And the words 'golden cage' cut too close to the truth he felt for the last few months himself.

"You're not scared that someone will come searching for me and kill you?"

The boy took a step in Atemu's direction which gave him an opportunity to lean closer to the Pharaoh, and grinned again, slightly less maniacal than the white-haired guy, but still making Atemu shiver lightly:

"I am not the one bound to a tree. I don't see why I should be scared."

Then, Atemu felt the boy's hand caress his bare stomach, his fingers brushing the soft linen of the Pharaoh's loincloth, and before Atemu could react in any way, the boy disappeared in he tent with a hearthy laugh... at Atemu's expense.

He sat there, propped against a palm tree, with eyes wide and something deep down in him stirring in fear, anticipation and excitement. No one had ever treated him this way, with disrespect, with contempt, with something Atemu couldn't quite name. It made something in him awaken, and Atemu found himself intrigued by these two rogues… or, to be honest, with that one particular rogue whose touch he could still feel tingling on his skin.

***

Seth looked at the stars sparkling in the liquid ink of the night that had spilled over him before he could notice. The spells weared him down more than he had expected, and sitting here, in the Pharaoh's beautiful gardens, made him feel at peace and refreshed. The cold air of the night soothed his skin, still slightly too warm, as he closed his eyes and listened to the rustling of wind in the leaves that were sinfully green, carrying the blasphemously rich smell of the flowers to Seth's nostrils. He sighed from the sheer tranquility of the moment until he heard rustling that was slightly off the usual night rhythm.

He looked up and saw a moonlit figure walking towards him, paler than usual in the silver luminosity of the night and reminding Seth of some god for a second.

Then, the man came closer and the spell of the moment was lost as Seth finally recognized the flaxen hair and the familiar features.

"Did your good-for-nothing spies manage to find him?" Jou asked in a slightly biting tone and Seth mentally growled at the disturbance from his quiet rest.

"He was last spotted on the market in the afternoon," he forced himself to be civil for once – maybe because Jou was actually dressed – and looked up again. The starts soothed him considerably, and he wished Jou would take the clue and just go away.

He didn't, however.

"Well then? Don't you think we should go and find him?"

"The two of us?" just the mere idea seemed ridiculous to Seth. "No. For one, we don't know where he is right now. Not even if he's still in the city."

Jou glared, as always when his idea had been declined by someone older and wiser, and Seth sighed quietly, seeing as this was not going to end quickly, even before Jou spoke, a slight tinge of acid in his words.

"Maybe we would know, if you could perform those little spells properly instead of just putting on airs and-"

"You don't know what it takes, so shut up if you can't say something wise," Seth snarled finally, annoyed and weary enough as it was without bickering with Jou and being accused of not doing enough, when he still could feel Seth's demonic fire under his skin from all the searching magic he'd done since he had realized the Pharaoh was gone.

He knew it was his fault, partially. He had never allowed Jou near Seth's altar, not even when Jou had been his slave, and certainly not since the boy had been freed and promoted to an advisor. He never wanted Jou to come into close contact with Seth's demonic powers, it seemed bad enough that the boy served someone like Seth, a magician not only named after the feared evil God of Underworld, but also wielding powers to summon Seth's demons.

So Jou was always cast out of Seth's rooms whenever magic took place there and never witnessed any of the rituals. He didn't know how the sacred fire burned within Seth every minute of his life since he was initiated as Seth's high priest and magician. He didn't know how that burning turned far worse whenever magic was performed, what toll every spell took on Seth and how difficult it was to maintain the connection with the summoned demons to make them do as the magician wished, and hold them from breaking loose and causing havoc among the people.

Seth never complained. He never wanted Jou to know, he didn't need to be taken care of and certainly didn't want anyone to pity him or make allowances for him for what he was doing. But it still pissed him off to be accused of not doing enough, and in the moments like this, he had to gather all his willpower not to drag Jou into his rooms and show him how magic was performed, so he'd shut his trap forever about it.

"I am not your little slave-boy anymore, so stop treating me like one," Jou said, his voice dangerously low, and Seth glared at him. He lacked conviction to argue right now, he was just too tired for that.

"I know, oh wise one. Now be so kind and leave me alone."

"You are dismissing me?!" Jou practically shrieked and the echo cut into Seth's sensitive ears painfully.

"Yes, I am, so stop yelling at me or I swear I'll call those demons again to bite you in the butt even if it kills me," Seth muttered, and practically saw Jou's rage reach new heights.

"You should focus on finding the Pharaoh, not on my ass, for once!"

Before Seth could properly raise an eyebrow and inquire what that was supposed to mean, Jou stormed off and finally left Seth to his peaceful moment.

Only that the peacefulness was completely gone, replaced by annoying questions that wouldn't go away all night.

***

Atemu shivered violently as the coldness of the desert night got to his bare skin, not used to such treatment. He closed his eyes and wished that he was in the palace in his warm, comfortable bed, and he swore to himself that if he ever managed to get back in one piece, he wouldn't complain about boredom ever again.

Yes, the palace was boring and snobbish and full of liars, hypocrites and murderers, but at least he didn't have to endure being bound to a palm there. His shoulders were starting to get terribly stiff, the skin between his shoulderblades had been too tender for hours and the rough bark of the palm cut into it painfully even if Atemu tried not to move too much. He had sand everywhere and he was cold and hungry and uncomfortable.

He hated being kidnapped. Really. He hated it with all his mind, and he wished that those rogues would just kill him or sell him or whatever it was they were planning to do with him. He had figured out sooner that day that they weren't just guards assigned to him – there were no more of them, just those two, the white-haired maniac and that kid who resembled Atemu. It hurt his pride even more when he imagined that he could command an army but couldn't take on two rogues, both of them younger than him from the way they looked.

But the palm bark hurt him more, and physically, and he disliked the tree with intensity that would burn the poor thing to ashes by now if it wasn't so cold outside. He had considered being humble and asking for a blanket, but he didn't, because the only thing that wasn't dead in him right now was his pride, and even if it was curled in the corner of his mind weeping bitter tears over how he was fucked over by two kids, it was still there, and it didn't allow Atemu to admit that he was shaking.

Just as he was trying to mentally prepare for a night of freezing, a rogue emerged from their tent. To Atemu's relief, it was the younger one, the less crazy one, and he was coming closer to the pharaoh.

Atemu expected questions or mockery and grit his teeth in order not to say anything unnecessary which could possibly worsen his conditions. But to his greatest surprise, the rogue didn't say anything. He came to Atemu and kneeled at his side, not even looking the pharaoh in the eyes - which almost fell out of Atemu's head when the bandit who kidnapped him lay down with his head on his chest.

"W-what are you doing?"

"Sharing body heat and a blanket," came a quiet, simple answer and only then did Atemu realize that indeed, there was a blanket over his chest suddenly. "We only have two, and Bakura would rather strangle you with his own than let you under it."

Atemu looked at the tent worriedly – the idea of being strangled with a blanket wasn't very pleasant and neither was the thought of freezing to death out here. He tried to decide what he felt, but the only thing he could feel right now was the warmth from the bandit's body pressed against his side and chest.

So, the maniac was called Bakura… it didn't ring any bells in Atemu's head and he felt slightly disappointed as he had hoped he'd understand their motives for kidnapping him if he knew their names.

"And what's your name?" he asked, somehow suddenly interested in this boy who was crazy enough to kidnap a pharaoh and then use his chest as a pillow.

There was a moment of silence, and Atemu thought that he wasn't going to get an answer, but then, a soft whisper slid down his skin agaist which the boy's mouth rested:

"Yugi."

He rolled that name around his mind, but it didn't seem familiar at all. And for some reason, he still felt intrigued by this boy. Yugi.

Not that he wouldn't trade this inerest for a bed that didn't rub his back raw. But it's been a long time since he had shared his sleep with someone, and after Yugi gave him a glare for squirming too much, he settled finally and stared at the sky, trying to find some peace between the stars.

"Why?" he asked quietly, almost sure that no answer was going to come now, seeing as Yugi's breath was already even and steady. Because of that, the quiet voice surprised him.

"If you fall sick and die, we won't get any money, so shut up and go to sleep," Yugi growled silently and his breath caused goosebumps to appear on the pharaoh's skin as it ghosted across Atemu's chest.

The pharaoh smiled lightly and closed his eyes, trying his best to travel to the dreamlands. He couldn't - he was aching all over, he was uncomfortable and restless, so he settled for watching over the stars and Yugi's sleep instead, enjoying the silence of the night while it lasted.

***

Seth rose as soon as the first rays of sun reached the palace gates. He couldn't sleep properly for the whole night – not that he didn't expect that. After performing too much magic, he tended to feel too warm even without a linen cover and toss in the bed, but this time, also Jou's words from the previous night bothered him. The weird suggestions that resurfaced from time to time in their arguments made Seth's skin itch with the need to know what Jou meant by that, and with the fear to ask directly, even if he knew that the blonde would probably just wave it off.

And then, there was the fact that the Pharaoh was lost.

Seth got out of his bed and dressed quickly, prepared to perform so much magic he would run a high fever by the lunchtime in order to find the ruler, but as soon as he stepped out of his chambers to grab something to eat, a servant stopped him, bowing politely.

"Master Advisor Jou left a message for you, Master Magician," the servant started carefully, knowing like the rest of the palace about the tension between those two, but when nothing stopped him, he continued, "he said that due to the circumstances he was going out searching for the lost one alone."

"Were those his exact words?" Seth asked with a frown, as those words didn't seem likely to have come from Jou. It was too polite, too reserved, and that worried Seth even more than the content of the message. The servant blushed and trembled, but answered nonetheless, knowing it could cost him his head if he didn't – as well as it could cost him his head if he did:

"No, Master Seth... he said: tell the grumpy bastard that if he can't get his lazy ass up and do something useful for a change, I'm going to search for the lost one myself."

Now, that sounded a lot like Jou and Seth smirked for himself at that. Then, he got serious once again – this wasn't the time to decipher hidden meanings in everything Jou had ever said or done.

"Did he bring any body guard with him?"

"No, Master."

Seth cursed under his breath, because he knew that despite Jou's fine body - what the hell was he thinking – the boy was not the best of fighters due to his slave origins. Slaves weren't taught how to fight if they weren't intended to work as guards, and Jou, with his education of a scribe and his current advisor rank, never really needed to fight.

Despite his rational part telling him that as a kid, Jou must've had faced a lot more fights than Seth did in his whole life, the magician set off to find his ex-slave immediately. He couldn't allow the Pharaoh's advisor to get hurt, now could he?

***

Atemu woke up and that alone surprised him as he didn't realize that he had fallen asleep sometime during the night. Yugi was already gone, but his blanket still covered Atemu's chest and legs and the pharaoh smiled into the warm, slightly rough linen contently. His shoulders still hurt, but at least he didn't feel so tired anymore.

"Good morning," a slightly sarcastic greeting came his way, and when he opened his eyes, he saw Yugi coming his way. He smiled at him, to acknowledge with gratitude that the boy had lent him his blanket, and Yugi kneeled next to him, a piece of corn bread in his hand. He set it on Atemu's stomach and before the Pharaoh could protest, Yugi reached behind his back and untied his wrists from the tree, so that Atemu had now enough room to eat.

"What, did you expect me to feed you?" Yugi sneered at Atemu's flabbergasted expression, and the Pharaoh quickly took a bite of the bread, without making any comments about what Yugi said. It didn't seem as cold and spiteful as yesterday's conversation, and Atemu couldn't help but feel smug that Yugi didn't hate him so much… even if that was probably just wishful thinking.

The bread was dry, bland and tasted like sand under Atemu's teeth, and he once again wished he was back home, with his usual breakfast of fruit, honey and soft, fresh bread, accompanied by fine, light wine instead of lukewarm, dank water that he sipped from the water skin Yugi set next to him.

"Sorry for not treating you to a feast you're used to, but yesterday we actually went to get some food, and dragging you with us instead kind of delayed our plans," Yugi announced dryly as he watched Atemu's sour grimaces over the offered food, and Atemu slightly frowned at him. Did he hear wrong, or was this bandit brat really accusing HIM of being kidnapped and interfering with their plans?!

"Sorry, next time I'll try to be kidnapped when it fits your schedule," he replied sourly and when he saw Yugi grin, he grinned back.

"That's a good hostage."

With that, he leaned closer and Atemu instinctively leaned back against the tree, suddenly vividly remembering yesterday, Yugi's hand on his stomach and later his head on his chest, and he felt nervous, having the bandit this close. He had a feeling that it didn't have anything to do with fear or anxiety, but he wasn't sure what it was.

He didn't have any reason to fear Yugi's actions, though, as the boy reached behind Atemu's back again and fastened the rope that held Atemu's wrists around the tree again. To the pharaoh's wide eyes, Yugi replied with a smirk:

"We're going to get the supplies now, so behave and sit here quietly. Otherwise you'll attract something wild and dangerous."

Now was finally the time to really be afraid.

"Dangerous?! What if something dangerous comes this way?! Won't you at least leave me a knife or something?!"

"So you can cut the rope, run off and die in the desert? I don't think so," Yugi shook his head, and Bakura, who had just come out of the tent, grinned widely at Atemu.

"That might be interesting. You know. Searching for the bits of the pharaoh. Like a puzzle game."

Atemu gulped down hard when Yugi actually laughed, and lost the will to fight his fate. He just hoped that whatever it was Yugi had meant by 'wild and dangerous', it was just a fairy tale to scare him.

***

Seth managed to catch up with Jou halfway out of the city. He would rather die than admit that he had used search magic to find the blonde, but he had a feeling that Jou knew anyway, if he was to judge from the smug smile playing on the younger man's face when Seth caught him.

"Found anything?" he asked, trying to sound as casual as possible.

"Some of my old friends saw a refined, royalty-like man being dragged off to the desert by two rogues yesterday. That must have been the Pharaoh," Jou informed him and Seth knew that he was right – not many royals roamed the market unarmed and unprotected.

"Did you find out where they are now?"

"Yeah. I was told that the rogues reside in a nearby oasis, somewhere to the west."

Seth felt relieved finally – he really didn't have enough strength to pull off a searching spell for a territory as vast as the desert.

"Fine. Let's go back, pack some food and water, take some guards and go find him," he said and turned to the way back to the palace… but Jou's voice stopped him immediately.

"No. Let's go right now. It might be too late with all your packing and preparing. Who knows what monsters those rogues are."

Seth sighed. Not another argument, he pleaded silently.

"Jou, I know you are trying to prove yourself-"

"I'm not trying to prove anything, I'm just saying that with the way you have to plan even a trip to the toilet, it'd take ages for us to set off and the Pharaoh might be dead by then."

"I don't-"

"Yes, you do, and if you're scared to go to the desert with just the two of us, I understand and you can go back and prepare however you want, but I am going there _now_."

Seth, scowling at the whole world by then, thought darkly about when exactly did Jou grow up so strong-willed and determined… and when exactly did his own ex-slave manage to learn how to manipulate him perfectly.

And also why the heck was he allowing himself to be manipulated, even though he was aware of Jou's little scheme.

"I am not scared," Seth growled and turned back to the city gate, stomping in their direction, trying to not see the self-satisfied smile on Jou's face, telling himself that he only agreed to this to prevent this blonde dork from getting himself killed.

"I'll protect you, princess," Jou grinned as he fell into step with Seth, ignoring the magician's growls.

"We're going to die out there," Seth foretold gloomily as they left the city quickly, with vast desert in front of them and no precise directions.

"Don't worry, I cannot imagine a Hell worse than being out on the scorching sand alone with you. If we die, it'll just get better."

Seth tried not to pout as it didn't fit his status and his reputation, though he could't help and feel kind of hurt by the words. He wrote that off to the fact that they were actually planning to go out there, find the pharaoh and fight the rogues on their own… and the rogues who were brave enough to kidnap a pharaoh must have been many in number.

Oh yeah. They were so going to die out there.

***

Yugi sat with his arms crossed and his cloak tight around his body while Bakura counted the profit from the last robbery. A few gold and silver bracelets… enough to buy them food for the next few days and even feed the pharaoh too.

"So, what are we going to do with him?" Yugi asked off-handedly, even though he was beginning to think that this whole thing was getting out of their hands. There was a vast difference between robbing off merchants and kidnapping a pharaoh, and he didn't honestly have a clue as to what to do. "Are we going to contact the palace and ask for ransom?"

Bakura shrugged, putting on the gold bracelets, and grinned in that twisted way of his that usually made even Yugi shiver:

"I say we just kill him, and hope that the next Pharaoh is better. Imagine the chaos it would cause… a Pharaoh killed by mere peasants…"

Bakura stared off into distance dreamily, laughing here and there like he lost it completely, and Yugi frowned, bringing his cloak closer around his body. He didn't like the whole idea – yeah, Bakura was a good partner when it came to robbery and pickpocketing, but murder… Yugi felt that murder was slightly – no, a_ lot_ out of his league, and he didn't know if he wanted to change that. Taking material possession from rich snobs was one thing, and taking an innocent life another.

And… the pharaoh didn't seem that bad. Yugi never saw another pharaoh, just this one, and it was only from afar until yesterday, but there was something about the man that fascinated the young bandit. For example, his wide eyes everytime Yugi had touched him, his surprised, honest face, the way he frowned in disgust at the old bread… the way he felt under Yugi's touch last night, his strong chest a perfect pillow…

Yugi shook his head and took a deep breath. No… he wasn't a murderer. He wasn't going to turn into one, just because he had a weird childhood friend with a fanatic streak. But he would have to think about some solution… if they just let the Pharaoh go, he'd find a way to get back at his kidnappers for sure, and as much as Yugi didn't want to kill anyone, he also wasn't particularly fond of the idea of being killed himself.

***

They were both tired, from the heat, from the walking and from the constant, though interrupted, squabbling about the possibilities of their little trip. Jou could sense that Seth was fed up with it all and was on the verge of turning back, but he also knew that Seth wouldn't desert him.

He didn't know how he could be so sure, but he was. That was one of the things Jou respected on Seth so much – that he was able to push his own discomfort away for the sake of something greater, something that needed his attention. Even if that something was just one little, stupid slave boy.

And it was this very thing that drove Jou crazy every time. Every time Seth brought up the dangers in their current mission, Jou got irritated. He knew that Seth was right, and it always pushed him over the edge.

He wasn't even sure if he was so irritated by the fact that Seth obviously didn't deem him capable of protecting himself, or the fact that he just realized he didn't want Seth to get hurt, not on this quest, not ever, and berated himself for being impatient as always and not listening to Seth. They could be riding now, with guards, with rations, safer and more comfortable, and without real danger threatening to come their way any second.

Jou also wanted to blame Seth in his mind for not insisting on the guards, but he knew he had no right to do that. He always knew that Seth had this weird soft spot for him, ever since the magician had purchased Jou as a slave boy, and Jou learned how to use this knowledge to his full advantage.

He could still remember that day clearly, as if it hadn't been nearly nine years ago, but just yesterday. He was a ten-year-old kid looking twelve and strong from all the work in the fields he had been doing until his master had died and his son decided to sell some of the slaves. He was scared shitless as to who was going to buy him, and when the old merchants or royals came his way, touching him as if he was a piece of furniture, he tried his best to appear worthless – he limped, looked at them cross-eyed, drooled over his chin to indicate mental illness, even scratched too often as if he had some disease. He managed to turn some potential buyers away like that, but then got beaten by the slave trader… and that was when Seth came.

Seth who was now cursing quietly next to him wasn't much different from that young man who had come up to the slave trader then and asked what had that slave done to deserve such treatment. He was tall, skinny and pale, and his dark eyes bore into Jou's with intensity that made him lower his head, not stare back defiantly as with other buyers.

The slave trader was all honey immediately, which meant that the young man must have been someone important, and Jou became slightly scared from all that silence and seriousness. This buyer didn't touch him in that weird way, in fact, didn't touch him at all. He asked "Are you healthy?" and Jou didn't even think about lying as he nodded. Then, the young man said that he was looking for an assistant, and Jou eagerly admitted that he knew how to write, as the old scribe on the fields taught him a bit.

Jou could still remember how Seth didn't beat him up or punish otherwise when he had learned later that 'knowing how to write' in Jou's terms meant knowing about twenty of the most used characters. He had the boy educated, and when Jou's judgment proved him to be worthy of a status higher than just a personal scribe, Seth freed him and provided teachers for him, as if Jou wasn't his slave but his own son or brother.

The respect Seth had earned with all that from Jou lasted throughout the years, long after Jou had been free of his services as a slave, long after he had stopped bringing food and drinks to Seth's chambers on his own free will as a silent thanks for all the man had done for him. Now that he was educated enough and secure with his own views on the world, he argued with his former benefactor more often than not, but he never stopped respecting Seth deep down in his mind. Over the three years of Jou's service as an advisor, they had become more rivals than friends, and Seth managed to annoy Jou spectacularly with his aloofness. Like when Seth never allowed Jou to assist him with magic, even though Jou could see, a teenage, ignorant slave he was, how it drained Seth everytime he used those demons. Seth's constant protectiveness and at the same time the distance he kept from everyone annoyed Jou more than anything, but at the same time endeared his old owner to him. And when he found out about Seth's peculiar fear of naked bodies, he had used that to his full advantage, always teasing the magician. Jou didn't know what it was that forced him to provoke Seth with his every word, but something in him demanded the magician's attention and if he couldn't get it with anything else, he would provoke him until the world ended.

Soon enough, they spotted a small oasis in front of them and Jou tensed as they approached it warily, but no rogues jumped at them and Jou thanked all the gods for staying with them and letting them reach their goal safely.

But he knew he was thanking for safety a bit too early, he knew it even before Seth crouched down and Jou could see that he was concentrating, most probably on his magic, as they closed in on the oasis, sneaking quietly behind the bushes and trees that gave them some cover. Any second, Jou expected to be jumped at and killed, but nothing came, just that terrible silence mingled with occasional rustle of the leaves. They sneaked closer and closer, and Jou managed to feel some kind of self-satisfaction over the fact that Seth didn't say a word to him, which meant that the magician could trust him when he had no choice, in crisis situations like this one.

Finally, they saw the pharaoh lying in the sand and Seth practically bolted out of the bushes to Atemu's side, for which Jou felt slightly jealous and a lot anxious – the latter not because they could be attacked at any time, more the opposite. Seth was so charged with his weird magical energy that any sudden attack would unleash gods knew what wrath on the heads of the attackers… Jou just prayed that no rogues were nearby, or the poor men would end up smashed to more pieces that could be counted.

As it seemed, there was no one except one slightly dehydrated pharaoh, who opened his eyes and grinned up at them the moment Seth unbound his wrists from the tree.

"I know… you told me so…" Atemu muttered sourly and Jou exchanged glances with Seth, mutely agreeing not to rub that in the pharaoh's face… for now.

"We need to get you out of here… and then kill those bastards," Seth growled and the anger in his voice made Jou shiver, and hope that it would never be directed at him. Seth was kind of cute when regularly pissed-off by random remarks, but this furious and protective Seth was a completely different matter and Jou gulped down hard, feeling that this man was capable of tearing one's head off quite literally.

Before he could gather his courage to try and persuade Seth to just get away from here, the Pharaoh did it for him.

"No. I've got other plans," Atemu smirked confidently and as he told them about his little idea, Jou grinned. Oh yeah. He could see why he liked the way the Pharaoh was thinking…

***

Yugi blinked sleepily, stretching his limbs over his head in the comfortable warmth that embraced him and rubbed his face against the soft, sweet-scented linens--wait. WAIT!

LINENS? AND SWEET-SCENTED?!

Yugi's eyes practically flew open and a strangled scream of horror escaped his lips as he looked around himself. He didn't remember ever having access to any house with ornately painted columns, embroidered curtains and golden plates. He didn't remember seducing a rich woman either, and he definitely didn't remember being proclaimed a son of a wealthy family all of a sudden.

Suddenly sharp pain erupted in his head and he hissed, hiding his face in his hands.

Oh, yeah.

He DID remember coming back to the oasis and suddenly being attacked by something that could only be described as Seth's underworld demons, only in human and extremely enraged form. Also a hit in the head emerged in his slightly hazed memories, and Yugi cursed under his breath.

"I am glad you're finally awake," echoed through the room and Yugi sarcastically wondered how the sound managed to get through all those curtains and veils.

"At least someone," he snarled quietly, as being loud hurt his head quite a lot, and sat on the edge of the large bed he had been lying in. His feet touched the turquoise tiles and he couldn't help but think that the floor here remided him of Nile on a summer day.

There was no time for poetry, though, as the speaker came into Yugi's line of vision then and the boy managed not to shriek – but gaped at the Pharaoh nonetheless. The man seemed much more regal now, when he wasn't tied to a tree and his hair didn't resemble vultures' nest. In fact he seemed just as distant and god-like as Yugi remembered him from the days when he had looked at the Pharaoh from the crowd, like thousands of Egyptians did on the streets during one ceremony or another, and Yugi shivered from the feeling of power this man was emanating.

"I would like some wine," the Pharaoh drawled with a grin settling in his features, and Yugi frowned questioningly. Was he serious? He had kidnapped the man, and now, the Pharaoh was inviting his kidnapper for a drink…?

But his questions were answered immediately when the Pharaoh sprawled on a day-bed close to the balcony and smirked at Yugi:

"Go fetch it, page boy."

"What?!" Yugi yelled and jumped out of the bed, his fists clenched and his face pale. He had never served anyone but himself before and he wasn't going to change it because of the Pharaoh's whims, that was for sure.

"You heard me, page boy. Now go and fetch that wine, my throat's dry."

The man had that kind of quiet power in him that Yugi had always feared in people and he mentally cursed himself for going along with Bakura's stupid plan. If only he had persuaded his friend to stay away from the Pharaoh then… he wouldn't be in this mess now. Right… Bakura. He would never give up and do what someone like the Pharaoh demanded – well he wouldn't do anything anyone demanded, just for the hell of it - and Yugi decided to not give in either.

"You can choke for all I care," he spat angrily, and trembled when the Pharaoh's smile widened, now being slightly reprimanding as if scolding a disobedient child. That wasn't good. Atemu stole a glance towards the doorway and Yugi turned around, his guts turning into a bag of hot sand when he saw that human demon from before standing there, wearing formal robes of a court magician and a smug smirk.

Yugi tried to frown at him, but the memory of the dark energy flowing from this man's body at that oasis made him shiver and look down to the Nile-like floor.

The man's voice was just as scary as it was quiet and emotionless:

"I'd say… lashing, fifty strokes, for disrespect towards royalty. What do you think, Pharaoh?"

Yugi turned to the Pharaoh, contempt forming on his face for these people who thought they could break him with beating, but then, Atemu spoke.

"I think that would suffice for now. Oh… and the prisoner's name is Bakura."

Yugi's eyes widened.

"You have Bakura?!"

"Oh yes, we do," Atemu smiled sweetly, settling into the day-bed comfortably, "and for everything you say or do to defy my will, he will pay."

Yugi grit his teeth. Bakura was psychotic enough to actually enjoy a few swipes of a lash… but Yugi couldn't bear the thought of someone being beaten because of him.

"Don't worry, page-boy, I will make sure your friend _enjoys_ it," the demon man grinned with a smile worth of Bakura's worst moments, and Yugi shivered. No… no matter how much he wanted to spit into the Pharaoh's face in that second, the truth was that he had it coming ever since he had agreed to the whole kidnap plan. Now, he had to pay for his mistakes and if servicing the Pharaoh meant that Bakura would probably not be killed by that demoniac monster disguised in human form, Yugi would do it.

With teeth still gritted and fists clenched, he stormed out of the room to find his way to the kitchen.

***

Yugi sighed mentally as he balanced the tray with fresh fruit in one hand and a carafe of sweet wine in the other. The servants stopped giving him weird looks a few days ago, when everyone in the palace became accustomed to the Pharaoh's new personal page. No one knew that he was originally a bandit who tried to kidnap their Pharaoh, and Yugi had first thought it was just Atemu's own vanity forbidding him to talk about being kidnapped by two youngsters.

But then, he overheard several conversations between the guards, and learned some ugly stories about the end of those who had tried to do harm to the Pharaoh. Atemu was loved by his people, at least inside of the castle, and his servants were loyal to him with all their hearts.

This was something completely new to Yugi. He had lived a self-sufficient life until he was brought to this palace, and even though Bakura and he had helped each other many times and lately just stuck together, Yugi never really felt like he belonged with Bakura completely. It was just a temporary solution for both and if ever one of them decided to go his own way, the other wouldn't hold it against him.

Here in the palace, however, it felt completely different. Atemu didn't state any precise time period for Yugi's stay, and even if that bothered the young bandit considerably in the first days of his service, gradually, he settled in just fine and stopped thinking about escaping. He spent most of his time following Atemu around and he found it amusingly ironic that his job was to fulfil the wishes of a man he had kidnapped before. Their roles had been reversed, and Yugi found out to his greatest surprise that Atemu's intentions weren't to punish Yugi as much as give him a chance in life, a chance that didn't involve stealing, deceiving and, gods forbid, killing.

Oh yes, he had had his fair share of rebelling against the Pharaoh in the first days. And he was never hit or yelled at. Every time he did something particularly bad, something Atemu couldn't tolerate without losing face before his whole court, the demon man was summoned, given orders to punish Bakura instead and waved off. Yugi learned that the man's name was Seth, and he thought it suited that ogre just fine. After several times of seeing that devil's smirk when he was ordered to punish Bakura for Yugi's wrongdoings, the young ex-bandit reluctantly decided to behave.

On the other hand, there were also many nice people out there in the palace, and to Yugi's surprise, even some of the Pharaoh's advisors treated him nicely. Like a servant, that much was true, but never cruelly. Yugi especially took liking to the youngest advisor, a delightful blonde-haired creature named Jou. They spent a lot of time chatting and Yugi respected the young man greatly for being good enough to rise from his position of a slave to being a court advisor in such a short time – and still being so energetic and funny. Yugi was even starting to learn how to read and write from Jou, who felt sympathetic with the young bandit and took the position of his teacher with joy.

But still, most of his time was spent with fetching food and drinks for the Pharaoh, making his bed, bringing robes for him, preparing his baths and so on. And slowly, the obstinant, rebellious feelings were replaced by respect that ran deeper than Yugi would admit to himself. Every day, he watched Atemu perform his duties as a pharaoh, attending meetings, ruling the decisions in cases that couldn't be settled otherwise, communicating with foreign rulers. He saw the Pharaoh the whole nation admired and worshipped, a great regal figure with the double crown of Upper and Lower Egypt on his head, his skirts perfectly folded and pressed, his jaw set and his face expressionless just like in those reliefs all around the palace. A flawless man born to rule, a true son of Horus and a true father to every living Egyptian.

And then, Yugi saw the lines of worry engraved into Atemu's face in the evening before an important meeting when it was to be decided whether Egypt would enter into a war with Syria. He watched from the shadows where he stood, awaiting orders, and saw Atemu sigh and rest his head in his hands, running his fingers through his hair, looking so very tired and human that Yugi just wanted to step out of his shadow and pat his shoulder reassuringly.

This side of the Pharaoh was completely hidden to anyone else and Yugi silently wondered every time why was he the one allowed to see Atemu this weak, this fragile. It would be easy to hurt him at moments like that, when he fell asleep over that mount of papyrus that covered his desk or when he closed his eyes in a short-lived bliss during his bath. And Yugi felt honored that he could see this human side of Atemu, honored and scared, because he couldn't think of anything the Pharaoh would want to accomplish by baring his soul this way to a mere servant.

Sometimes when he watched Atemu's face relax in sleep, Yugi remembered a few stories he had heard about pharaohs, about how they were so depraved that sometimes they took a male companion to their bed. Yugi would like to tell himself that he couldn't even imagine doing something like that, but the truth was he imagined it fairly often recently. He usually tried to fight off those nagging thoughts by acting extra-cold towards Atemu, but recently that wasn't enough to chase off the memory of that one night in the desert, of Atemu's strong chest that had been such a great pillow to Yugi, of his warmth by Yugi's side, of the soft skin under Yugi's fingers.

He longed for Atemu's presence, that much he couldn't hide even from himself, and Yugi mentally berated himself for imagining such crazy things. Because what was allowed for pharaohs was completely out of question for people of Yugi's standing, and he knew it very well – not that his body actually listened to his mind when it practically shook with excitement just at the fleeting touch of Atemu's hand or an accidental brush of their legs.

It was becoming harder and harder every day to remain in the shadows until the Pharaoh requested another plate of fresh fruit like right now, and Yugi mutely grit his teeth at every such order, because he wanted… he didn't know what exactly it was he wanted, but he knew it was something completely different from what he was allowed to have.

Yugi set down the tray with a bow he knew noone acknowledged as Atemu's eyes remained fixed on the papyrus on his knees. The Pharaoh had carried all the diplomatic correspondence to his bed some time ago, apparently fed up with sitting at the desk, and now rested his head against several pillows, trying to remain focused – or at least it seemed so to Yugi. Once again, the Pharaoh's face was paler than usual and dark circles under his eyes spoke of many sleepless and worried nights.

Atemu took a grape from the tray without even looking at it and pushed it past his lips, sighing lightly as he let his head fall back against the headboard and closed his eyes, chewing on the fruit slowly. He seemed worried and worn-out and in terrible need of sleep, and Yugi didn't know what pushed him over the edge finally, if it was Atemu's abandon, completely ignoring Yugi's presence in the room… but he didn't really think as he stepped closer quietly, leaned down and captured those wet lips with his own.

Immediately, he was startled by his own action, not knowing what the heck was he doing at all, but it was what happened next that made him yelp in surprise. In just a flash, the whole world turned around and Yugi felt a tight grip of two strong hands on his arms in the very second he found himself lying flat on his back, sprawled on the Pharaoh's bed, with said ruler on top of him, a questioning frown mixed with hunger in his handsome face.

"It's not right," Yugi said quietly in a feeble attempt to persuade himself, looking into the Pharaoh's glittering eyes as he gulped down with some difficulties. Yes, it wasn't right, and he wanted it more than anything right now. He had lost the strength to hide his feelings from himself, and his body was very honest if his mind wasn't. Right now, all that was in Yugi's head was a whirlwind of sensations, warmth and softness and firmness, all so very close to him, and that sensuous smell of a fresh garden that Atemu always carried around himself.

"It is wrong to bed a male," Yugi repeated more firmly, searching Atemu's face for any kind of clue as to what was the Pharaoh going to do next.

"I'm a Pharaoh, remember? I'd be marrying my own sister if I had any. I know more about 'wrong' than you can imagine," Atemu teased with a predatory grin and Yugi's mind finally went blank and completely surrendered to his body under the mere thought about all the 'wrong' things Atemu could do to him. The man above him was so attractive, so strong and so desirable that Yugi felt he should be bothered by all that, but he wasn't, and all that mattered in that moment was the tension between them, the heat in the room that seemed to increase tenfold when Yugi raised his hips tentatively and brushed his groin against Atemu's. When the Pharaoh drew in a sharp breath, Yugi's heart stopped for a second, and he expected Atemu to call Seth and rule out punishment for his rashness… but seconds passed and nothing like that happened.

"Are you sure?" Atemu asked, his voice hoarse and Yugi wanted to laugh and tell him that he didn't even have any clue as to WHAT he was supposed to be sure or unsure about. But that meant too many words and too little action, so Yugi spared them both the suffering of a proper conversation that would feel very awkward right now, and decided to let his actions speak for themselves. He raised his head as his arms were still pinned down by Atemu's hands, and connected their mouth again. This time, Atemu actually responded and they both sighed silently into the kiss.

Atemu released Yugi's arms and Yugi regretted it immediately, but when those deliciously soft fingers returned to his skin, sliding up and down his chest, mapping the planes of his delicately sculpted torso, he felt as if he was to melt any moment. A moment later, Atemu's lips joined the ministrations over Yugi's nipples and the boy sighed from the sensation.

The fact that Atemu was a man was completely forgotten by the time Atemu's lips slid to Yugi's navel, and when Pharaoh's talented tongue trailed wet paths all the way down to Yugi's arousal, the boy wouldn't care if Atemu was a bloody Sphinx, only if he never stopped doing what he was doing at that very moment. He voiced his opinion loudly and was silenced immediately by a flick of tongue to the tip of his hard member and one agile finger tracing a teasing path down, over his balls and then southwards to the opening to his body Yugi never thought could be used in this way.

Atemu continued licking where it counted most and before Yugi's mind, hazed with lust, realized what Pharaoh's finger was going to do, it was already sliding into his tightened opening. Yugi yowled with surprise – and pleasure when Atemu did _that_ divine thing with his tongue – and tried to wiggle himself away from the intrusion. But tough luck, Atemu's other hand gripped his hips and didn't let him move away. Yugi's eyes widened and slightly startled looked at the Pharaoh with lips still attached to Yugi's cock.

When Atemu noticed the question and insecurity in Yugi's eyes, he released that delicious flesh from his mouth, only to use his lips in no-less sexy way and grin up at the young boy.

"Don't you think you're going to put me in this state and then tell me to stop," Atemu purred half-jokingly, half-warningly and slid up Yugi's body like a divine snake to capture those full lips. Yugi didn't even have time to protest as his eyes fell closed that instant and his mouth responded to the Pharaoh's kisses on their own. He wasn't very skilled at it and tremors ran down his spine, arousal mingled with nervousness, as he could feel the sloppiness of his own kisses against the Pharaoh's hot tongue dancing in his mouth.

But Atemu's finger still sliding shallowly in and out of his body and his other hand which moved to replace Atemu's mouth on Yugi's cock didn't give the boy much room for any protests, and when the Pharaoh licked his way down Yugi's jaw and neck to bite at his collarbone, the boy was lost, to hell with genders, statuses and experience.

He moaned and arched himself against the Pharaoh's strong body, which caused Atemu's teeth to cut into his skin deliciously, and Yugi stopped clenching the sheets to touch Atemu in return, feel the muscles of his back move under his fingers and make him feel good too, because Yugi feared to continue this, but feared stopping a lot more.

"You don't have to force yourself," Atemu whispered on Yugi's skin and the boy's eyes snapped open to frown down at the Pharaoh.

"If I were forcing myself, I'd kick you in the nuts," he growled breathlessly and the way Atemu smiled at him benevolently showed him that the Pharaoh knew he was just talking big, but allowed Yugi that feeling of freedom.

"Leave my nuts alone so they can be of better service to you," Atemu chuckled and kissed his chest and Yugi wanted to retort something to settle the fact that he wasn't Pharaoh's toy into the man's thick skull, but a second finger was inserted into his ass and that effectively prevented him from saying anything. He hissed when the friction became a bit unpleasant, but suddenly the fingers were gone and so was Atemu's body. Yugi opened his eyes, slightly afraid of seeing one of the advisors stand beside the bed and calling Pharaoh off to some (un)important duty, but no such thing happened. Atemu was grabing something from the bedside and in a flash he was back, his heat sheltering Yugi from the cool breeze running to the room through the open balcony. He shivered as skin rubbed against skin, and then Atemu smiled at him and before Yugi could ask what he had in mind, the fingers were back, but this time, it was a lot more pleasant. Weird, but pleasant, and the fingers slid easily into his body as if covered in oil.

Which was exactly what happened, as Yugi saw when he raised his head to look down and spotted a small flask propped up against one pillow at the far end of the bed. His cock was leaking hard and jutting up, pointed in a perfect angle that made it seem as if at least that part of Yugi's body was bowing to the Pharaoh, and then behind this little worshipper Yugi could see Atemu's wrist moving, as he felt the fingers glide into his body further and further inside. It was such an obscene view that Yugi couldn't help but throw his head back and moan as the Pharaoh settled between his knees and leaned down to shower kissed down on Yugi's chest and belly, his free hand rubbing sensuous circles over Yugi's hips, getting closer to his cock but never quite touching it.

This denial of his basest needs made Yugi moan again, this time urging Atemu to do more even if the boy didn't really have a clear idea as to what this 'more' meant. But when a third finger was added, spreading him beyond the point he though possible and touching something inside him that made him see sparks, Yugi didn't even mind. Whatever this 'more' meant, as long as it kept Atemu at his side, or better, inside. Yugi would've never believed that being with another male could feel this good, and for a split second he started wondering whether all this could be implied into proper lovemaking with women. But then, fingers withdrew and Atemu's strong hands gripped his hips, lifted him up and there was delicious pressure and more spreading and slight burning pain… and when Yugi looked down, his eyes widened with part-terror and part-surprise as he saw what was this 'something' scorching him from the inside with flames that felt like silk.

Everything proper and connected to women was forgotten immediately when Atemu thrust his hips and Yugi felt the mighty Pharaoh's balls pressed against his ass, his cock inside him and his hands gripping the undersides of his thighs, pressing them towards Yugi's chest to make room for the heated moves that followed.

Yugi gripped Atemu's hair in abandon, forgetting the man's status of a ruler and brought him down for a kiss as he wanted to feel him more, touch him more, taste him more. And Atemu granted him that without any objections, his tongue penetrated the barrier of Yugi's teeth that just begged to be breached just in time with steady thrusts, stroking Yugi from the inside in the way he never thought possible. He moaned, he arched, his hips danced with Atemu's and his cock rubbed against Atemu's flat, golden abdomen. Atemu picked up speed in his movements and sighed above him just as pleasure rippled through Yugi's veins from his crotch and ass to his whole body, sending waves of euphoria running through his veins and spreading into every inch of his flesh. His vision blurred from all the sensations and he buried his nails in Atemu's arms and heard the man's yelps, but he couldn't determine whether they were from pleasure or pain, and he didn't care in that second as he came hard, spilling inbetween their bodies that rubbed together and spread the outcome of his ecstasy over both of them. His body convulsed in every way possible and suddenly teeth descended upon Yugi's neck roughly, marking him with the bite that muffled Atemu's cry of pleasure as he filled Yugi's insides with his liquid fire.

Before Yugi could catch his breath properly, Atemu rolled over and lay next to him with eyes closed, panting heavily, covered in sweat and glistening like some kind of a perverse but loved god that was yet to be discovered by common people. Yugi felt as the chosen one at that moment, chosen to experience this divine bliss as the first person on this earth.

And suddenly, his whole body was filled with yet another kind of warmth, one he never knew he could feel, that warmth that started somewhere in his chest and spread through his body like the sweetest poison there was, infiltrating his mind and rendering it useless. The only thing left in his mind was the need to stay close to this man… for as long as he'd be allowed to.

Tentatively, Yugi propped himself up on his shaky elbow and let his lips wipe the tiny beads of sweat still present on Atemu's body. He knew he could be cast out from the Pharaoh's chambers this instant, sent to prison or just sent to fetch another plate of fruit, or maybe even sold as a slave to someone else… or he could be kept here as a stress reliever for the Pharaoh. He didn't really care for any of those options, but reckless and brave as he sometimes was despite the fear he felt, he had to try take things into his own hands and know the outcome, rather than wait quietly and let his life take its own course.

He was startled when suddenly Atemu's head turned to him and his eyes, lustrous depths they were, looked at him intently. The taste of salt on Yugi's tongue almost choked him when the Pharaoh smiled satedly, like a great cat after a particularly remarkable hunt.

"So?" Atemu asked, and when he saw question in Yugi's eyes, he grinned even wider. "Was that 'wrong' enough for you?"

The hope and warmth Yugi picked up in those few words matched perfectly with what he felt growing inside him right now, and he couldn't help but smile back.

"I think you could be worse if you tried."

Atemu's grin and a soft peck to his lips told Yugi that he was right.

"I'll prove how wrong I can be, I promise."

***

Seth seethed with anger just at the memory. He shivered everytime when he remembered that afternoon, and he had taken refuge in plotting to kill that impudent little bastard in the most painful way for the whole rest of the day.

But he knew he couldn't – even the First Court Magician didn't go unpunished for killing off the Pharaoh's lover. Even if said lover was an insufferable brat with weird ideas inside his otherwise empty head.

Really.

Who else could be foolish enough to yell at Seth and Jou while they were arguing, and, what is more, yell: "Please, you two, just go fuck each other already!"

Yeah, Seth could still remember how that managed to surprise him so much that he shut up immediately. He could see Jou's flushed face – flushed from their previous shouting match, of course! – and Yugi's smug grin as he nodded, crossed his arms over his chest and went on a long rant about some weird tension between those two.

And when the Pharaoh showed up, he actually agreed with that little shithead!

In fact that was what enraged Seth the most, the way Atemu just stood there, grinning and nodding and agreeing, as if that outrageous idea of Seth and Jou… together… was absolutely normal! Really… that brat was getting more spoiled day by day… or more like night by night which he spent in the Pharaoh's bed. Seth didn't begrudge them their 'relationship', he was happy enough for Pharaoh to be able to relieve his stress with someone in that kind of activity… but only as long as those two didn't rub their exploits in his face. Or worse… expect him to do the same.

And with Jou, nonetheless.

Seth snorted once more and wrapped his arms around himself to protect his naked torso from the night's breeze. No, that kind of thing wasn't for him, he had learned that long ago. He had _decided_ that long ago, and he absolutely didn't see any reason to change his opinion on this matter. Naked bodies terrified him. The idea of someone touching _his_ naked body made him nauseous, and the idea of him touching someone else didn't even make it past the defenses in his brain to actually be registered.

So Yugi's little suggestion came as quite a surprise, and not a pleasant one. He had never thought about Jou in that matter. Jou had been his slave, his servant, later his student and then his colleague advisor. Never even a friend, at least Seth wouldn't call it that, even if he trusted the blonde fool more than he had ever trusted anyone else. He knew that the young man was honest, brave and energetic, even if a little foolish at times, and Seth's well-trained aesthetic eye could see that Jou was at least decent-looking if not outright handsome, but… that was it. Nothing more, nothing less.

A knock echoed through the rooms, and when it remained unanswered, soft creaking of the door followed and light steps entered Seth's chamber. He didn't need to turn around to see who it was as noone else would've dared enter his rooms without his consent. Only two men could do that without fear of getting cursed into next century – first was the Pharaoh, who must have been busy enough at that moment entertaining his new pet toy so he couldn't be bothered to come and visit Seth. The other man was the one Seth didn't want to see right now… but as usual, when it came to Jou's opinion, Seth's wishes accounted for nothing.

Seth shivered again as his eyes remained trained on the still waters of Nile, the dark surface reflecting stars and moonlight like a mirror. He wished it could show him something more, something important for his life, but the flickering silver dots of star reflections remained just as distant as they always were.

"What do you want?" Seth broke the silence quietly as the stillness behind his back told him that Jou had no intention to do so. Even after the question was placed, Jou remained silent for an unnervingly long moment.

"I want to make peace," Jou's clear voice rang behind Seth's back and the mage smiled bitterly at Jou's usual ignorance towards the volume of his voice.

"I wasn't aware that there was a war."

Jou just sighed, and Seth could hear rustling that he knew was a sign of Jou running his hand through his messy blonde hair.

"I'm… tired of all this bickering. I want to establish some kind of normal relationship with you."

That made Seth's insides convulse in a weird way, and turned his voice into an icicle against his will:

"I do not desire any kind of relationship with you."

For some incomprehensible reason, his own answer made Seth's insides clench even more, and his stare at the waters of Nile intensified tenfold, as if he was painfully holding onto it to steady his mind and brace himself for what was to come, because Seth could hear Jou gasp and then stomp closer. His warmth was so notable in the cold air of the room that it carried to Seth and made him hug himself tighter.

"What?!" Jou exclaimed, now loud enough so that his voice carried over the whole room and Seth didn't doubt that anyone in the gardens, which he could see from his rooms, would be able to hear Jou as well. "You always act so high and mighty it pisses me off! No relationship with me?! You don't want to concern yourself with someone of my origin, is that right, you arrogant snob?!"

That turned Seth around quite effectively to glare right into Jou's fierce eyes.

"If you assume that, you don't know me half as well as you once claimed to," the mage hissed, but as he looked, the rage in whole Jou's stance betrayed the blonde's thoughts (not that Seth's ability as a mage to read minds didn't help). Actually, the usually self-assured and loud Jou was still an insecure slave, convinced that everyone only saw a lowly creature in him. That kind of hurt, even if Seth didn't want to admit it. That this boisterous man could actually be scared… scared of people's opinion…

Seth had to turn away. There was something calming in the dark rippling Nile, something stable to hold on as everything around him seemed to be changing in direction Seth didn't really care about. And he would prevent that if he could.

He wanted to ask Jou to leave, but didn't get around to do it as a voice, finally a bit quieter and soft, echoed behind him.

"Then… why?"

He felt the warmth coming closer, and then suddenly it was burning him, just a touch of a heated hand on his shoulder, but so intense that Seth frowned at the nonexistent eyes of Nile. He tried to shrug Jou's hand off, but it stayed on its respective place and Seth turned to send him away. All that he achieved was that he suddenly stood terribly close to Jou, with his hand still on his shoulder and with that terrible body heat of his suddenly all over Seth. The mage looked right into Jou's eyes and realized that the boy was the same height as him now – he never quite noticed just how much Jou had grown in those past few years.

And now, he was standing in front of him, tall, handsome, half-naked and with something indistinguishable in his eyes and in the way his hand squeezed Seth's shoulder. Seth couldn't bring himself to say anything, just stared, and the heat of Jou's touch slowly seeped into his own body, not intruding, alien and everpresent fire like demonic flames crawling under the skin of all Seth's Mages, but gentle, tentative and caressing.

Then Jou stepped closer, and that delicious warmth was pressed against Seth. His insides convulsed almost painfully, then practically disappeared and Seth shivered, the heat of Jou's body against his contrasting sharply with the cold breeze blowing against his back. There was unspoken need of something unknown in Jou's eyes, and Seth felt fear and an urge to run away at that.

Another hot hand slid up Seth's upper arm and caressed Seth's fingers that rested there as the mage still hugged himself. He shivered at the close contact – it was more of a physical contact than he had allowed in many years from anyone. And he didn't know why he allowed it after all.

Jou's fingers reminded Seth of tiny demonic flames as they travelled over his skin, up his arm, across his shoulder, tracing the collarbone, burning every trace of defense on their way and Seth felt cornered. Scared. Terrified, actually, as he felt the question in Jou's eyes.

"Stop it," he whispered, averting his gaze as he couldn't withstand those sparkling, pleading eyes anymore. The touch disappeared, but the heat didn't, as if Jou still… hoped for something? Seth didn't know. He wasn't familiar with these situations. To this day he didn't even consider Jou as more than an acquaintance, a colleague, he hadn't considered anyone as more than that. And now, he could feel Jou's warmth filling him, and he wasn't sure if he wanted to surrender and burn or resist what he didn't know.

The tentative touch on his arm returned, and Seth winced. No. No surrender… he couldn't allow that. Not with Seth's demons under his skin, not with Jou.

"Please. Leave."

Jou did, and Seth turned back to his river-viewing pastime, but the dark matters of night and Nile didn't bring him peace anymore, no matter how long he stared into them. Too much warmth remained on his skin, it felt too cold after the door closed behind Jou. Seth wasn't used to physical intimacy, not even to basic touches, not even looking at naked skin. All that always made him uncomfortable… but somehow, now when he had a taste of those things, he could see that maybe it wasn't all that bad. Maybe… even if he wasn't ready for naked people and actual physical intimacy in its most basic sense, he could probably handle touches. Innocent, normal, friendly touches. Feel the burn of something that wasn't otherworldly and demonic.

And the only person that made him crave touches was…

Jou.

His former slave, former servant, former student. Present colleague. Future… friend… Seth tasted that word on his tongue, and after a long, long while he decided that he liked it. And that he needed to act immediately… or he'd just shrink back from all that again, never say anything and live rest of his life in regret, because now, the night with no one but him felt horribly cold, as if it wanted to extinguish the one natural flame inside him, that of his heart.

Seth, scared by that thought more than by the thought of being touched and for once liked, stormed out of his rooms without further thinking. He didn't bother knocking when he reached Jou's rooms, and so was caught unaware by the sight in front of him.

Jou was just stepping out of one of his weird baths, his skin shining silver in the moonlight that seeped through the open balcony. Seth wondered briefly why there were no candles or torches lighting up the room, but that wasn't important. Jou was there, that mattered most, naked, but not teasing this time, just standing there, looking at Seth as if he was afraid to show any question – or answer – in his look. His wet hair clung to his face and the night breeze brought the sweet, heavy smell of his bath to Seth's nostrils.

Seth stepped close, and his hand touched a human being properly for the first time, his palm placed against Jou's chest and his eyes watching the gesture as if his brain needed ensurance that it was real, that he was indeed touching Jou's soft, wet skin.

"I don't know what to do," he whispered and raised his eyes to meet Jou's. They conveyed nothing but warmth, and Seth suddenly felt so cold that he wanted to be buried in that heat for the whole night.

"Me neither," barely more than a breath passed Jou's lips and then the blonde leaned closer and kissed Seth, slowly, sweetly, warmly. Jou's big hands slid down Seth's back and hesitated for a split second before they dove under Seth's loincloth and squeezed his buttocks, making the mage gasp in surprise into the kiss. The fine linen fell to the ground and Seth shivered, his old fear of nudity kicking back, but Jou didn't give him enough room to get scared as he kissed him thoroughly, pushed Seth's barriers away with his tongue and broke them with his hands.

Seth was drowned in the sea of all the new sensations, giddy with the warmth he was receiving from Jou. He didn't care about anything, he didn't care about where did Jou's slick fingers came from and how they penetrated his body. He had his eyes closed so the nudity wouldn't scare him, but the sliding of Jou's leaking cock against his own, accordingly hard, was exceptionally nice. And when Jou's large hands gripped his thighs tightly and wrapped them around Jou's waist, Seth sighed in pure bliss. He almost wondered why he had depraved himself of this for so long, but he didn't – he knew. He had waited for Jou, for his body and mind to realize that his missing piece of puzzle was this silly blonde who aggravated him with his every other word, but nonetheless brought him pleasure with every kiss, every touch, every breath ghosting over Seth's skin.

And when Jou entered him and pain shot up Seth's spine, he didn't even hiss. Jou's teeth on his neck were enough to distract him from the pain splitting him down there, but soon, nothing could distract him from intense pleasure of being pounded through the wall with every strong thrust of Jou's hips. Jou was moaning and panting and those delicious sounds mingled with Seth's own, Seth's nails dug into Jou's back as Jou's dug into Seth's thighs and Jou's cock entered Seth deeper and deeper, deeper than any demons Seth had ever summoned. The pleasure building withing him burned more intensely than any demonic fire under his skin and the stars that had been reflected on Nile flashed under Seth's closed eyelids as he squeezed his eyes shut with that explosion of joy.

Seth screamed, and Jou kissed him to silence him, or just to taste him, and Seth felt sticky wetness on his belly and inside himself, filling him to the brim, and the feeling was more exquisite than he had ever imagined – if he ever did.

When he unwrapped himself from Jou and his legs gave out from under him, Jou caught him and grinned at him:

"Stay here tonight."

And Seth didn't even think about protesting… he was too weak, too sated and too warm for that.

***

Seth stretched and yowled, as the small of his back protested more than painfully against any movement. He berated himself for having lost his head last night… they should have started with something… less rough.

He wondered why he didn't berate himself for doing it with Jou in the first place, but as he searched his mind, there was no guilty feeling or shame. Just… ow. His ass…

Seth reached down slowly, careful not to wake up the blonde heap lying next to him, and when he felt sticky substance against his fingers, he mentally cursed.

He cursed aloud when he brought it to his eyes and it was dark brown, smelling of melted sugar and being extremely sticky and unpleasant to have anywhere, much less in private places.

His foot kicked Jou's side on its own vengeful accord and when the younger man howled and woke up, his eyes wide, he got a death glare instead of a morning kiss.

"Are you fuckin' insane?!" Seth growled, and Jou gaped for a second.

"Well, I was fucking _you_ last night, dunno about your sanity…"

Another kick told him exactly how bad a joke that was, even if poor advisor was completely serious about his answer.

"Why the heck would you use _caramel_?! Bloody melted sugar?! On my ass?!"

"Glad you've come to terms with the intimacy part," Jou muttered, was kicked once more and then awakened cruelly by a draft of cold air as his cover linen was dragged away from him, wrapped around a certain caramel-stained body and stomped with said body out of Jou's rooms.

The advisor could hear the Pharaoh's amused voice and he grinned into his pillow. Oh, Seth was so going to pay…

**The End.**


End file.
